The present invention relates generally to decorative fabrics used in home furnishings, for example tapestries, decorative pillows, tree skirts, stockings, wall hangings, bell pulls, afghans and similar home decor textile products. Such fabrics are often woven or quilted with intricate decorative patterns. More particularly, the present invention relates to a decorative fabric in which orifices are woven into the fabric that are suitable for insertion of three-dimensional ornamental devices.
Ornamental devices, for example light emitting diodes, have been used to decorate fabrics, such as apparel products. Typically, the LEDs or light bulbs are secured in the garment by grommets or similar eyelets bounding holes that are generally formed by cutting or otherwise puncturing the fabric. A power source such as a switched battery may be attached to the garment to energize the LEDs.
The present invention recognizes and addresses the foregoing considerations, and others, of prior art constructions and methods.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved decorative fabric for use in home furnishings that allows insertion of three-dimensional ornamental devices. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
Such objects are achieved by a decorative woven fabric for use in home furnishings. The fabric includes a woven web having a front side and a back side, wherein the front side defines an ornamental design. The web defines a plurality of loose weave areas that are formed by non-interlocking warp yarns and filling yarns and that are located at predetermined positions within the design. The non-interlocking warp and filling yarns in each loose weave area are separable from each other to form an orifice through the web. A plurality of ornamental devices are inserted through respective orifices and protrude through the front side of the web.
In accordance with the present invention, a process for forming a decorative woven fabric for use in home furnishings is also provided. The process includes providing an ornamental fabric design and weaving a web according to the design. The weaving step includes holding a defined number of warp yarns at each of a plurality of predetermined positions in the design in an open shed position for a defined number of picks. The number of warp yarns and the number of picks define a loose weave area of separable non-interlocking warp yarns and filling yarns. Ornamental devices are inserted through respective loose weave areas.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.